Immigration Terms and Definitions

Country of Former Allegiance
The previous country of citizenship of a naturalized U.S. citizen or of a person who derived U.S. citizenship.

Country of (Last) Residence
The country in which an alien habitually resided prior to entering the United States.

Immigration Form N-565
Application for Replacement Naturalization Citizenship Document

Refugee
Any person who is outside his or her country of nationality who is unable or unwilling to return to that country because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution.

Immigration Form I-212
Application for Permission to Reapply for Admission into the U.S. After Deportation or Removal

Humanitarian parole
Authorized at USCIS headquarters or overseas District Offices for "urgent humanitarian reasons" specified in the law. It is used in cases of medical emergency and comparable situations.

Apprehension
The arrest of a removable alien by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Each apprehension of the same alien in a fiscal year is counted separately.

Legalized Aliens
Certain illegal aliens who were eligible to apply for temporary resident status under the legalization provision of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986.

Visa
A U.S. visa allows the bearer to apply for entry to the U.S. in a certain classification (e.g. student (F), visitor (B), temporary worker (H)). A visa does not grant the bearer the right to enter the United States.

Intracompany Transferee
An alien, employed for at least one continuous year out of the last three by an international firm or corporation, who seeks to enter the United States temporarily in order to continue to work for the same employer, or a subsidiary or affiliate, in a capacity that is primarily managerial, executive, or involves specialized knowledge, and the alien’s spouse and minor unmarried children.